I have spent the last 10 months thinking that I had a difficult baby, or at least a very different baby. And I was right about the last part. My son IS different. I've yet to meet another baby like him. A few nights ago, when I couldn't sleep, I decided to read some threads on the May 2010 Birth Boards on Babycenter.com. I had made it a rule to stay away from Babycenter last summer, but I was curious as to how the other 10 month old babies were faring.
I saw countless threads about babies STILL not sleeping through the night. I saw moms distraught over Crying It Out, whether to use it or not. Moms discussing the fact their baby wasn't crawling yet. Some babies who were refusing to eat and needed to see a specialist. Some that just weren't gaining weight yet. Some babies that weren't clapping, pointing OR waving yet (Henry does all three and has been clapping for 3 months).
We have our moments, don't get me wrong. Henry is different in that he has been on the move since before he was born. He has the most active genes from his father and the most active genes from his mother (surprising I had any). I see the pictures of these other 10 month olds, meet babies only a few months younger than him, and there is a HUGE difference. Not only does Henry walk, he walks very well. He knows how to get over door framings, and he can get down from the porch to the ground without falling. He can even push his own wagon that weighs more than he does. He has pushed 40 lb boxes around his grandparents' living room!
When we brought him home from the hospital, it was rough at night. He wouldn't sleep in his pack n play. We tried putting him on his Boppy lounge pillow between us, and it worked for awhile, but we neither got any sleep too worried that Henry would roll off. So Henry slept in his swing from 2 weeks of age to 2 months. I am okay with this. Why? Because in that time frame he went from an hour or so of sleep at a time to EIGHT hours of sleep. And I was told by a family member "Oh you're going to regret that big time. You'll never get him out of there." At 2 months he woke up in the middle of the night, fussed, we put him in his packnplay, ON HIS TUMMY, and guess what? Sound asleep.
Same thing with the pacifer. He was DONE with it by 3 months. We brought it to Alaska, just in case, but all he'd do was chew on it. People told us not to put him in a walker, it would make him walk on his toes, teaching him not to walk properly, or retard his desire to walk. NONE of this was true with Henry. He started walking early, just before 9 months old, and I've only once caught him on his tip toes and the only reason was that he had just tripped over something and was trying to catch his balance. He walks just like he is supposed to.
So in this first year, I've learned a few things. One, don't listen to anyone but yourself and your own instincts about your baby. Well I shouldn't say it like that. I should say TRUST yourself. You will get so much advice as a new parent, a lot of times it is hard to weed through what you need to know and what you don't. I had so many people telling me what I should and shouldn't do that I didn't have a clue what was right anymore. We finally found our rhythm and Henry has grown into a beautiful, healthy little boy with more ambition and drive to learn than I've ever seen from another baby. Now this is probably because I've not been around a lot of babies, but still. :)
It amazes me how I already knew him in the womb. He came out exactly the way he was inside. Moving all day long, active and happy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment